We are doing science for policy

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy.

In this section, you can learn more about the JRC's role, how it is structured, its resources and the people that make it work. You'll also find contact details and information about where we are located across the EU.

Research

Our scientific work supports a whole host of EU policies in a variety of areas from agriculture and food security, to environment and climate change, as well as nuclear safety and security and innovation and growth.

Our research topics give a deeper insight into that support of EU policy, while you can also discover the unique laboratories and facilities where our scientists work.

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Our news gives you an insight into our support of EU policy and highlights the scientific research carried out everyday within the European Commission.

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Sharing scientific knowledge across boundaries

Our communities bring together individuals interested in sharing scientific knowledge and experiences and to exchange ideas and learning, with the aim to better serve and inform EU policy and the citizen.

Each community is governed individually and membership requests are dealt with by the moderator. Some areas are restricted.

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Nuclear Security and Forensics for the Media

The news

The JRC has today released details of nuclear forensic work carried out on samples dating back to the early days of the technology's history: from Germany's World War II Programme. At a workshop for journalists held today, 19 March, on nuclear security and forensics at the JRC's Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) in Karlsruhe, Germany, JRC scientists presented the results of nuclear forensic investigations into two samples dating back to the first German nuclear energy project, thought to have begun in 1939.

One sample, a uranium metal cube, was obtained from the Haigerloch Atomic Museum in Baden-Württemberg and originated from the German "Uranverein" nuclear programme under the scientific leadership of 1932 Nobel Prize Winner for Physics, Werner Heisenberg. The second sample, a uranium metal plate, was obtained from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg and is thought to have played a part in the work of Heisenberg's fellow researcher, Karl Wirtz.

At the press workshop at JRC-ITU today, scientists revealed the forensic science, tools and tactics developed and deployed by 'atomic detectives' to overcome these challenges. Nuclear experts explained, for example:

How nuclear materials can be 'fingerprinted' and their source determined;

How the international community cooperates in the nuclear security field.

Over 30 journalists from across the EU were allowed a glimpse inside the JRC's high security nuclear laboratories for a unique first-hand experience. No other civil laboratory in Europe offers such a broad spectrum of analytical capabilities for nuclear materials as JRC-ITU, where specialists can trace nuclear materials back to the facility in which they were produced, like a bullet back to its gun. These facilities include:

microscopy laboratories, with scanning and transmission electron microscopes, which have been specially modified for operation with contaminated samples;

particle-analysis laboratories, which consist of highly sensitive mass spectrometers (SIMS), optical microscopes and a clean rooms for the preparation of particle samples.

During the workshop, presentations were made by Franck Wastin, Nicole Erdmann and Klaus Mayer from JRC-ITU on the work of the JRC in the field of nuclear safeguards and forensics. Maurizio Boella from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Transport and Energy gave a presentation on the role of the European Commission's Nuclear Inspectors

International cooperation on nuclear security

JRC-ITU cooperates in a wide range of instances with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the control of nuclear materials and facilities. The IAEA is charged with verifying that countries live up to their international obligations in the area of nuclear non-proliferation. This includes, for instance, verifying that nuclear materials are not diverted and that nuclear facilities are not used for the development of weapons. The JRC has provided scientific and technical support to this work for over a quarter of a century, with over 100 scientists and technicians (so-called 'Atomic Detectives') working on more than 25 projects.

During 2009, the JRC will sign two new important Collaboration Agreements on nuclear security with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), USA.